Undercover
by IWishIWasReading
Summary: Draco Malfoy, a good friend of Ginny's, has recruited her as a candidate to become a Death Eater. Suddenly thrust into the confusing and highly regimented world of pureblood women, Ginny must learn to cope with her new lifestyle. When the Dark Lord himself asks Ginny to perform an unspeakable act, will she rise to the occasion or regret her decision? Drinny, Dark Ginny
1. Chapter 1

Waiting with your brothers as they shop for new Hogwarts robes is no fun task. Ginny Weasley sat on a chair in the corner, glancing every few minutes at her pocket watch, waiting for the time to be right. After what seemed like forever, Ginny hopped out of her chair and called to her mother, "Mum! I'm going down to… erm… Flourish & Blotts to… uh… look for my school books!"

"All right, dear!" came the reply. Ginny could tell by the light tone of her mother's voice that Mrs. Weasley had no idea what her daughter had just said.

As the door of the shop closed behind her, Ginny heard her mother's impatient shriek, "_FRED, YOU WILL TRY THESE ROBES ON OR SO HELP ME-"_

Ginny couldn't help but smirk to herself as she strode down the street towards Knockturn Alley, eager to meet her mentor and her boyfriend. She glanced cautiously over her shoulder every few seconds to makes certain that she wasn't being followed.

"Ginny!" she heard a familiar voice call from behind her. She winced and turned around to see Nymphadora Tonks beaming at her, hurrying to catch up.

"Oh, hey, Tonks," Ginny said with a nervous glance at her pocket watch, "Listen, I really ought to go and find my books-"

"I'll come with you!"

Ginny thought about Tonks's proposal and decided that there would be no unsuspicious way to refuse her offer. "Alright, thanks, then…"


	2. Chapter 2

Sprinting down the cobblestone road, already twenty minutes late thanks to Tonks's annoying blabbering, Ginny jerked opened the door to Borgin and Burke's, glad to see that the two people she had been meeting had not yet arrived. She gave a sigh of relief, thinking that they would not discover her mistake, as a tall boy with a long pale face and sleek blonde hair strode towards her, accompanied by a black cat.

Ginny greeted the boy with an eager kiss as the cat transformed into a thin dark women with heavily lidded eyes, a mocking smirk, and wild, black curls.

"Ginevra," Bellatrix Lestrange greeted her coldly, "You are late." Ginny's eyes widened with terror as her worst fears were confirmed.

"My sincere apologies, Mrs. Lestrange," Ginny said, staring at her feet.

"You shall receive punishment-"

"Aw, come on, Aunt Bella, don't be so harsh. You sleep through the morning meetings most of the time, and the only punishment you get from the Dark Lord is a nice trip to France and a bottle of champagne –"

"That will be all, Draco, _darling," _she said through gritted teeth, fixing him with a deadly glare. The two teenagers avoided each other's eyes, afraid that they would burst into childish fits of giggling.

After several moments of awkward staring, Bellatrix pointed out, "We should probably be going. Luckily, I had a hunch you would be late- I told you to come an hour before the meeting actually started."

Ginny flushed and grabbed Draco's hand as Bellatrix transformed back into a cat and led them down the dark, mazelike alleyway of Knockturn Alley, tracing and retracing their steps so as to make sure they weren't being followed, before the three of them disapparated to the front of Malfoy Manor.


	3. Chapter 3

Bellatrix transformed back into her human self, and led the two hesitant teenagers towards the house, strutting with what Ginny would've called arrogance a few months ago, but she now recognized it as pride. Bellatrix paused only once to shoot a curse at Lucius' prized albino peacock that was strutting majestically on top of Narcissa's neatly trimmed hedge.

She stopped suddenly at the door, taking a deep, shaky breath. As she confidently raised her fist to knock, the door swung open, revealing a terrified looking house elf, who jumped at the mere sight of her. "Mistress Lestrange," he squeaked, his large eyes growing larger. "Welcome to the Malfoy Manor."

"Out of my way,"said Bellatrix in a dangerously calm voice. The elf disappeared. Draco and Ginny looked awkwardly at each other and then back into the house, wondering whether or not to follow her in. They stood there, looking and listening to her Stiletto heels clicking down the long hallways, until they heard her voice yet again- "Well? Are you just going to wait out there?"

Bellatrix lead them through the labyrinth-like hallways to the back of Malfoy Manor, where the majestic drawing room stood. Draco's mother, Narcissa, came running toward them before they had a chance to open the door. Narcissa's long, silvery blonde hair was half-way up in curlers. "Bella, Bella! Help me with my hair! Draco, darling, your father wanted to see you upstairs. And Ginevra, would you mind supervising the house elves while they make dinner? There's one rebellious one named… Gildy, or Groobles… maybe Gibbs….? Well, I don't have time to learn house elves' names. But I don't want his ideas spreading to the other elves."

With that, Narcissa and Bellatrix walked off, elbows linked, already gossiping about the other pureblood wives ("Can you be_lieve_ that Laurelle Zabini just married her _eighth husband?")._ Draco gave Ginny an apologetic smile as his father called him from some far-away room.

The minute Draco disappeared up the stairs, Ginny's confidence faltered and she became hopelessly lost. She began to walk in a random direction, pretending she knew what she was doing. After wandering for twenty minutes without any luck, Ginny found herself in Narcissa's closet, trying on shoes. While counting the number of hatboxes, she noticed a small air vent mostly covered in a mink fur coat.

Curious, Ginny cast the coat aside. She peered through the duct and saw a familiar wildly messy head of hair next to an even more familiar sleek blonde head. Ginny gasped, causing one of the older death eaters to quickly snap his head up in her direction. After a few moments, the death eater looked away, thoroughly convinced it was his imagination.

"The girl can't be trusted!" an unfamiliar voice said.

"Of course she can be trusted, you mindless twit," said the familiar drawling voice of Severus Snape. "She _must _be trusted. She is the final Horcrux, the only point of the plot that shall make us absolutely indestructible."

"Severus," said a cold, high voice from the head of the table, where Ginny couldn't see. "You are completely right. But how can we be absolutely certain that she is loyal to our cause?"

"Easy," said Bellatrix, smirking evilly. "We ask her to do something that's so horrible, so incredibly heinous, that she would only do it if she were absolutely one hundred percent willing to stick with us until the end."

"And that is…?" said Lucius, raising his nearly-invisible eyebrows doubtfully.

"Well, remember what I had to do? I had to kill my cousin. Ginevra, however, shall murder her brother, Percy."

The death eaters around the table looked slightly impressed with Bellatrix's evil idea, some of them offered an applause, which fortunately covered up the sound of Ginny's gasp. Voldemort raised a long, pale hand, and the applause ceased at once.

"Very well, Bella," said the Dark Lord, "That is a splendid idea. Now the question is this: whom shall I kill to make Ginevra into a Horcrux?"

"Why not Peter Pettigrew, my Lord?" asked a man with a long, twisted face seated halfway down the table. "He has done nothing useful as of late…"

"Ah yes, Dolohov, superb idea. Someone go and fetch Wormtail, where is he?"

"In the kitchen with the house elves, my Lord, I shall fetch him," Narcissa said, getting out of her seat and sweeping elegantly out of the room.

Ginny jumped up, realizing that Narcissa would be expecting to find her in the kitchen.

She thundered down the stairs and raced into the kitchen just as Narcissa was striding in through the opposite door. Ginny struggled to hide her shortness of breath, pausing only to check that her hair was presentable. Narcissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You just came sprinting down the stairs, didn't you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Ginny thundered down the stairs and raced into the kitchen just as Narcissa was striding in through the opposite door. She struggled to hide her shortness of breath, pausing only to check that her hair was presentable. Narcissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You just came sprinting down the stairs, didn't you?"

"No –" Ginny breathed, and then, seeing Narcissa's doubt-filled face, she said, "Well, yes, but I – How did you know?" she asked.

"I grew up with Sirius and Bellatrix," Narcissa said, shrugging. "Where were you actually for the past twenty minutes?"

"I was, erm –" but luckily, she was cut off by the shouting of several house-elves.

"THERE IS A RAT IN THE KITCHEN," one female house-elf shrieked, grabbing a pan from a cabinet and holding it above her head like a weapon as she ran over to the corner where she must've seen it. The other house elves grabbed various pieces of kitchen equipment and ran to the corner, all holding pots and knives high above their heads, ready to attack.

Narcissa's eyes widened and she shrieked, "STOP IT, YOU FOOLS! THAT'S WORMTAIL!" It took a moment for the house elves to comprehend that they were not allowed to kill the rat in their precious kitchen. They lowered their "weapons" with a disappointed look on their faces. Narcissa rushed over to Peter, pulling out her wand. Peter, though, saw no threat, and immediately transformed into a human.

"How will I ever repay you, Mistress Narcissa, for saving me…?" Peter croaked as he fell to his knees. Ginny had a sudden urge to vomit. Narcissa offered no response but conjured a set of hand cuffs with her wand and, as if refusing to touch him, applied them onto Peter with her wand. Narcissa turned toward Ginny.

"I suppose you know anti-animangus and anti-apparation spells, dear?" Ginny nodded without hesitation. These she had perfected easily with her sessions with Draco. She didn't even think as she murmured the spells under her breath. Peter was quivering in fear, and once again, Ginny was disgusted at his un-manliness.

Narcissa led them down the twisted halls of Malfoy Manor for what seemed like hours, half-carrying, half-shoving Pete in front of her. She finally slowed in front of a large metal door at the end of a long hallway. Ginny was out of breath, but Narcissa seemed as poised as usual. After quickly breathing words under her breath too quiet for Ginny to hear, the double doors creaked open dramatically. The inside looked damp, dark, and dreary. Ginny felt a flicker of fear. _Next,_ she thought_, a vampire will jump out of those shadows in the corner…._

But Narcissa, unlike Ginny, showed no fear. She strode into the dungeons confidently, her 8 ½ inch heals clicking on the concrete floors. Ginny felt obliged to follow her, though rather cautiously. The dungeon was empty, as far as Ginny could tell, until Narcissa none-too-carefully shoved Peter into one of the cells closest to the door. She turned toward Ginny with a small smile on her face, and sighed.

"Well, now that that's taken care of…" and, with that, she apparated. Ginny, once again, was alone, and this time in the dungeon. Without her, the large room seemed even more threatening. Even from near the entrance of the dungeon, Ginny could hear Peter's breaths, almost too noisy to be human. _At least it's not a maze to get out of the dungeon, _Ginny thought. But nevertheless, she jogged to the doors, eager to get away from the breathing rat-man. She flew toward what she thought was the main hallway.

Hopelessly lost yet again, Ginny tried another hallway, which, of course, led to a dead end. "Big surprise there," she murmured. Why do they all have to look the same? Her heart leapt for joy when she finally saw, out of the corner of her eye, a sleek blond head.


	5. Chapter 5

Her heart leapt for joy when she finally saw, out of the corner of her eye, a sleek blond head. She gasped, twisting around toward him. "Draco!" she exclaimed. She was about to throw her arms around him, but something stopped her. In his arms was a small, angelic child. The girl's soft, bouncing pale blonde spirals curled around her precious little face, her skin a flawless shade of wintery cream. The baby was looking at Draco, her crimson lips curving into a smile, revealing her perfect set of teeth. The child's eyelashes were long, and her eyes were the most vivid shade of blue that Ginny had ever seen. The child reached up to pull on Draco's hair, and she let out a high-pitched giggle that sounded like the jingling of bells.

The beauty of the child and Draco's obvious pride in her made Ginny's eyes tear up. "Who…?" she began, but she was unable to finish the sentence.

"Maeve. This is Maeve." Draco said softly as the toddler continued to pull his hair. "She's my little sister." Draco was almost hesitant to tell her.

"What? Since when?" Ginny stuttered. Offended, she had thought they were close enough to tell each other about their siblings.

Draco, though, being is smart-aleck self again, said, "Oh, three years and four months now."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Hiii!" Maeve said, waving at Ginny. "Hi Gee-Gee!"

"She knows my name?" Ginny asked Draco, tearing her eyes away from the beautiful child.

"She recognizes you from the pictures I showed her," Draco said, smiling at his baby sister.

"Gee-Gee!" Maeve said, reaching her arms out to Ginny to be held. Ginny took the little girl into her arms.

"My, that's quite a dress you have on, Maeve," Ginny cooed. The dress was pink and frilly and lacy, and had a large bow on the front.

"Fank you," Maeve said, picking at the bow. "Auntie Bewwa maked it fer me."

Ginny laughed. The image of Bellatrix sitting at a sewing machine making this pink frilly dress was beyond her wildest dreams.

Just then Ginny noticed the pair of miniature high heels in Draco's hands.

"Are those hers…?" Ginny asked.

"I don't think they're appropriate, but my mother insists…" Draco said. "Maeve's closet was bigger than mine before she was even born; she's so spoiled by my parents and Aunt Bella."

Ginny was still standing there admiring Maeve when she heard Narcissa's voice announcing dinner. "Attention, all. Dinner will be served in exactly twenty minutes."

Draco began to put Maeve back into her bedroom when Maeve started screaming, "No, no! Maeve too!" Draco gathered her back into his arms as if he was expecting this.

"Ginny, do you mind putting Maeve into her dinner gown? She's not allowed to eat in that dress. She's a messy eater, and that dress is… expensive, to say the least." Draco said as he gave Maeve to Ginny. "I should go freshen up before dinner, or Mother will be upset."

As soon as he left the room, Ginny turned back around to see Maeve standing on a stool with her arms up, with an expectant look on her face.

"Um…" Ginny stammered

Maeve shook her arms in the air to add emphasis as she said, "Dwess off."

"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed, embarrassed, because a three year old had known what to do before her.

A half an hour later, Maeve was still sitting on her stool as Ginny continued to hold up options. As another dress was turned down, Ginny turned back around and muttered to herself, _"That one's for playing. That one's for Sunday dinner. That one's for sleeping." _Ginny held up a green silk dress with black lace and silver sparkles. Maeve's face lit up, and she screamed, "That one! That one!" Ginny let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Okay, hurry, hurry!" Ginny breathed as she shook the dress onto Maeve, who stood there humming. The little girl looked down at her dress, obviously confused.

"What is it now?" Ginny asked, exasperated.

"Bow?" Maeve said, poking a spot on her stomach.

"Where?!" Ginny asked. "Do you know where it is?" Maeve nodded, sending her little blond curls bouncing. She ran to the dresser in the corner, three times bigger than her, and pointed to the top drawer, which was above Ginny's head. She whipped out her wand and yelled, _"Accio bow!"_

The drawer bounced open and a large black bow zoomed toward them. Ginny hurriedly fastened the bow onto the dress. Maeve looked into the ceiling-to-floor length mirror and squealed in delight. Ginny picked her up from behind and ran to the dining hall. She took a moment to catch her breath and compose herself before opening the large doors and stepping in.


	6. Chapter 6

The table was forty feet long. Closest to her was Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr., sitting across from their sons. Crabbe and Goyle and their fathers were staring at a large tray of green and silver cupcakes near the center of the table, and did not notice her. Next, Ginny walked past Fenrir and a young, and very attractive, werewolf, who smiled in her direction, flashing his scissors bite. Ginny put her hand on Maeve's head protectively, walking past the werewolves quickly. Pansy Parkinson sat next to the young werewolf, leaning as far away as possible, towards Millicent Bulstrode, who was whispering in her ear and glancing at an attractive looking teenage vampire, who had an uncanny resemblance to Cedric Diggory. Pansy's gaze drifted and suddenly met Ginny's. She punched Millicent in the ribs, and pointed not to subtly at Ginny. They both stared at her, jaws dropped, until she walked by.

Beside Pansy and Millicent were Blaze Zabini; Theodore Nott; Marcus Flint; Lavender Brown, who was glancing around nervously; Romilda Vane (Ginny's eyes widened at that); Daphne and Astoria Greengrass; and finally, Ginny's eyes found Draco, who was having a conversation with Fred and George.

FRED AND GEORGE?!

Ginny could not believe her eyes, but it was true – her two older brothers were sitting with all of the Death Eaters, near the head of the table. There was an open seat between Draco and Fred, who still had the pins on his robes from Madam Malkin's. Bellatrix sat at the head of the table, glancing every few seconds at the empty seat, obviously wondering where her selected apprentice was.

Ginny looked around, wondering what to do with Maeve, but the child had already run over to an elaborately decorated high chair between her mother and her aunt, and was stretching her arms out toward Bellatrix saying, "Up, up, up!"

Ginny strutted over to her boyfriend and her brothers and demanded an explanation. "Fred and George!? What the hell?"

"Ah, Ginny," Fred said.

"We knew you'd be coming around," George said, smirking.

At this, Ginny had nothing to say but, "I beg your pardon?" How could they have known?

"We recommended you to Bellatrix, since our apprenticeship will be over after this meeting."

Ginny's jaw dropped. She knew how long it took to graduate from apprenticeship. "So, what you're saying is that you've been doing this behind our backs for, what, three years?"

"Well, it seems so harsh when you put it like that," Fred said.

Ginny had to admit, she was impressed. She had only been doing this for three months, and it was getting increasingly difficult to hide it from her parents. "Alrighty, then," Ginny said dismissively, sitting down between the twins and Draco, who had said nothing during the confrontation.

"Quiet down, everyone!" Ginny heard Bellatrix's voice. The sound did not cease. "Attention, please!" Bellatrix yelled, clearly growing impatient.

"Oh, dear," Narcissa mumbled.

"SHUT UP!" Bellatrix roared. A ringing silence followed. "Thank you," she said pleasantly, as if nothing had happened. She began slowly walking around the long table. "Welcome to the Death Nibbler-," she stopped herself suddenly. "Death Eater _Youth_ meeting." There was a roar of laughter from half way down the table.

"Told you it'd catch on, Bells!" called Dolohov, still laughing.

"Shut up if you know what's _best for you_!" Bellatrix called pleasantly. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, this meeting is simply to see who will still be interested, _and who will be dead_." She smiled kindly.

Crabbe Jr. screamed suddenly and attempted to run out of the room. Unfortunately, he did not run fast enough, because Bellatrix's shower of green sparks caught up with him quickly and he fell, dead, to the ground. "SON!" Crabbe Sr. roared. Nagini slithered out of a nearby closet and consumed the body before slithering back to her hiding space.

"Someone, remove the oaf," Snape drawled, obviously bored. Two indistinguishable cloaked figures appear out of nowhere and each took one of Crabbe Sr.'s large, beefy arms, before apparating away.

"Does anyone else want to leave?" Bellatrix asked, barely suppressing a smirk. You could have heard a pin drop as everyone stared back at her with horrified expressions upon their faces. Maeve giggled and Bellatrix smiled approvingly at her.

"Without further ado, I would like everyone to come up here with their selected apprentice and introduce themselves. Goyles, do you wish to be first?" The Goyles, who had quickly gotten over the loss of their friends and who were stuffing their mouths with cupcakes, looked up at Bellatrix, horrified. Nevertheless, they got up from their seats and introduced themselves clumsily.

"This, uh, I mean, I'm Gregory Goyle Sr., and this here, uh, this is my, uh, son. Gregory Goyle. Jr." At this, they hurried back to their seats and presumed cupcake eating.

Bellatrix looked completely disgusted and made a mental note to ask the Dark Lord why he had accepted Goyle in the first place. "Alright. Moving on," she said. "Next up?"

The young vampire and Scabior, the snatcher, stood up swiftly. "I am Scabior, a snatcher, and this is my chosen apprentice, Edgar."

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Edgar said charmingly, flashing his fangs before taking a seat. Almost immediately, Fenrir and the young werewolf stood up.

"I am Fenrir, King of the werewolves," he added, smirking.

"Oh, shut up, Fenrir," Scabior said, rolling his eyes.

Fenrir fixed him with an icy glare before continuing his introduction. "This is my lunar son, Willofae." Though everyone else in the room nodded understandably, Ginny was confused. Draco noticed her confusion and leaned toward her, whispering, "It means he turned him into a werewolf."

Next up was Alecto Carrow and Pansy Parkinson, Amycus Carrow and Millicent Bulstrode, Thorfinn Rowle and Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott Sr. and Jr., and Lazarus Yaxley and Marcus Flint. When it was Macnair and Lavender Brown's turn, Ginny leaned forward curiously. "I am Macnair and my apprentice is Miss Lavender Brown." Lavender was visibly shaking, and seemed relieved when she was able to sit back down. Augustus Rookwood and Romilda Vane, and Antonin Dolohov and the Greengrass sisters introduced themselves before it was Bellatrix's and Ginny's turn.

"This is my third apprentice, Ginevra Weasley, and my first two apprentices, Fred and George Weasley, who insisted upon being here to see their sister's face when she saw them." At that, George held up a hand and Fred slapped it without looking away from Bellatrix and Ginny. Ginny took a seat while Bellatrix remained standing. "I would now like to congratulate Fred and George on their apprenticeship graduation. As you all know, this is a long and difficult process that only a true Death Nibb- Death Eater Youth could withstand." A series of applause filled the room before Bellatrix held up a hand, and the room fell silent once more. "On that note, let the meeting conclude and the feast begin! Unless you're Goyle and Goyle, who started eating twenty minutes ago."

As Ginny dug into the large plate in front of her, she looked around at the people sitting at the table, excited to start this new chapter of her life.


	7. Chapter 7

Three hours later, everyone except for Bellatrix, Dolohov, the Malfoys, Fred and George, and Ginny had left. Those remaining were gathered around the fireplace in the Great Room of Malfoy Manor, each nursing a cup of hot chocolate.

The adults were each reasonably drunk, but not to Ginny's surprise, they seemed to hold their liquor quite well. Fred, George, and Ginny exchanged amused glances as Lucius drunkenly slapped Narcissa's butt, causing Draco's face to flush bright red. Bellatrix, desperate to get away from Dolohov's attempts to flirt, glanced around the room to try to find someone to talk with, and she caught Ginny's eye.

Ginny didn't look away quite fast enough, and to her dismay, Draco's terrifying aunt sat gracefully down next to her on the couch.

Maeve squealed in delight and crawled from Draco's lap across Ginny's lap to curl up in Bellatrix's arms. The toddler was absolutely fearless as she reached up and tugged on a lock of Bellatrix's wildly curly hair.

Draco, noticing that Ginny had tensed up, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "She's not that bad, honestly. She may look like the grim reaper's wife, but she's just a big teddy bear underneath all of that."

Ginny must've looked skeptical, because Draco announced loudly, "I think I'll go get a bit of fresh air. Ginny?" he asked, holding his hand out as though to suggest that she accompany him.

She began to move to get up, but was stopped when she felt a cold hand on her forearm, restraining her.

"No, no, Draco, dearest. I was just about to have a word with your little friend," Bellatrix drawled, flashing a surprisingly sweet smile.

"Oh, um," Draco said awkwardly, moving to sit back down.

"Oh, _no, _Pet. Heaven forbid that _I _prevent you from getting some fresh air. I know how important it is for little boys like you," she said dramatically, one hand over her heart while the other patted her nephew's shoulder.

Draco scowled. Even in her drunken state, his aunt was quite perceptive. He sulked out of the room after giving Ginny and apologetic look.

"So, Ginevra," Bellatrix began. "I'd imagine this is all a bit overwhelming, what with you coming from…" she trailed off, looking slightly confused, as though she wasn't quite sure where she was going with this, "…where you came from?" she finished. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Ginny replied, "Erm, yes, I do find it a _bit _overwhelming…" She chose her words carefully so as not to offend the potentially violent woman.

A radiant smile broke out on Bellatrix's face and she tilted her head back, letting out a tinkling laugh that was so unlike her usual cackle.

Ginny tilted her head to the side slightly. Perhaps there _was _more to this woman than the tenacious follower of the Dark Lord.

"Perhaps a bit of advice would be helpful?" Bellatrix asked thoughtfully, and then continued to speak without any confirmation on Ginny's part, "I can see why the people on the other side think I'm just a fabulously skilled witch with no conscience. I try to keep in mind _perspectives _as I go about life. You see, perspectives can be terribly useful, especially when it comes to persuasion. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There are several basic things that a pureblood teenager needs to worry about in order to be successful after Hogwarts. You see, a girl your age – sorry, how old are you?"

"Erm, fifteen," Ginny interjected awkwardly.

"Yes, yes. A girl of fifteen years has to worry about six major things. The most important of these things are properties and titles, and you have neither. So we'll focus on the remaining four categories – the ones where you actually have a chance. Appearance is probably the third most important."

Bellatrix paused, taking in Ginny's appearance with a slightly discouraging look on her face. Ginny's mouth fell open a bit, causing Bellatrix to wince.

"Shut your mouth, dear, we wouldn't want to catch flies."

Ginny instantly clamped her jaw shut.

"Now I know what you're thinking 'Who is this woman to give me advice on my appearance? Her hair is a grey rat's nest, her teeth are practically rotting.' But listen to this! What is my role? I am a lunatic, a 14-year Azkaban veteran, and the mistress of practically the most dangerous wizard of all time. Should I look good? No." A smirk grew on her face and she snapped her fingers, pointing at Ginny, and added one crucial word, "_Usually._"

Ginny's brow furrowed as Bellatrix pulled out her wand and gave it a wave over her. To Ginny's amazement, Bellatrix's hair transformed, from root to tip, into shining luxurious spirals. Her smudged eye makeup disappeared- and truthfully, she looked better without it – and when she smiled again, her teeth were perfectly white and straight.

"It's all about appearance, dear. Not necessarily good appearance. Well, for your sake, we'll stick with the good appearances. It's easier to master."

Ginny found this hard to believe, but nodded nonetheless.

"We'll schedule some get-togethers later on to go into more detail. Social graces are also very important – I didn't have those when I was your age. If you don't believe me, ask Narcissa, she'll tell you – for several hours. I was a Black, though. You're a Weasley. You have no title and no properties. I had titles, properties, and the oldest blood in England. If you're going to pull this off, you have to be a picture of sophistication. That means you have to know what to say, when to say it, how to say it, and who to say it to. That'll come with practice. And what you _don't _say is just as important as what you _do _say."

Ginny's eyes were glued to Bellatrix, absorbing every word that she said.

Bellatrix's eyes flicked down to her niece in her lap, who was soaking up her aunt's words like a sponge. Bellatrix smiled at the child. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, Maeve?"

The girl nodded and clapped in delight.

Bellatrix smiled fondly. "Good. I was about your age when I got this talk."

"Your spell work is also fairly important – you need to keep the house running. But the last thing is your grades. They don't need to be excellent, but try to pass all of your OWLs. Don't get too caught up in studying, it's unattractive. Learn as much as you want – knowledge can be priceless in a sticky situation – but don't seem _too _smart, because men don't like it when you're more intelligent than them. Plus if you hold back a bit, it makes you seem more mysterious. That's almost never a bad thing, except when it is. But you'll know when that time comes.

"Manipulation is _key. _The man may the head of the family, but his wife is the neck. And she can turn that head any way she wants. But, those are the major six things for a young pureblood teen like yourself. After you get married it's a-whole-nother story. But it's getting late; we'd better let you get back to your family."

As Bellatrix gathered Maeve more firmly into her arms, Draco entered the room.

"Did I just hear something about the man being the head of the family?" Draco asked, a proud smile on his face.

"Yes, dear, that's _exactly _what we've been talking about," Bellatrix replied without batting an eye and without any indication that that wasn't exactly the point of their entire conversation.

Ginny was vaguely impressed.

As Bellatrix passed him in the hallway, Draco whispered something in her ear, something that Ginny couldn't quite make out. If she read her boyfriend's lips correctly, he had whispered, "They're here." But that didn't really make any sense, so she dismissed the thought, and allowed Draco to walk her to the fireplace so she could Floo home.


	8. Chapter 8

"Ginny, dear," Molly Weasley called to her daughter. "Where were you yesterday in Diagon Alley? I looked for you in Flourish and Blotts, and you weren't there."

Ginny choked on her porridge. "Yes, um, I wasn't there. I made my stop there as fast as possible. I ran into some friends from school and we went… to the Owl Emporium. One of my friends needed an owl." Ginny felt slightly guilty as she realized how easily the lies came.

"Oh, alright, dear. I was just making sure you weren't up to something," Mrs. Weasley said in a light, joking tone. "Do you need your jumper washed?"

"No, Mum, thanks."

Mrs. Weasley bustled out of the room just as Ron, Harry, and Hermione entered.

"Hey, Ginny," Ron began, "D'you want to play a round of Quidditch?"

Ginny squirmed uncomfortably, knowing that she was due at the Malfoy's in an hour, but also knowing that at this last year, she never would've turned down a game of Quidditch. "Only if Fred and George are playing, too. Two on two is no fun."

Ron shot Hermione a dirty look, which Hermione didn't see. Ron knew that the only reason Ginny didn't want to play two-on-two was because Hermione might be her only teammate.

It wasn't that Ginny didn't like Hermione, it was just that Hermione was… dangerously pathetic when it came to Quidditch.

"I'll run upstairs and ask Fred and George," Ginny offered, jumping up before any of them could say anything. She ran up the many stairs of the Burrow and knocked on the twins' door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me," Ginny said. "D'you two reckon you'd like to play a match of Quidditch?"

The door opened just enough to reveal the twins standing there.

"Don't you have to be you-know-where in an hour?" George asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, yeah," Ginny said, "But that's enough time for a bit of Quidditch. Won't you come play? I don't want to be with Hermione again… she sucks."

"Yeah, we'll come," said Fred. "And we're also coming to the Manor with you later."

"What? Who invited _you?" _

"None of your business," said Fred, winking. They followed Ginny down the rickety stairs and out into the orchard.

After an hour filled with Quidditch, Fred and George made an expertly executed excuse as to where they were going, leaving Ginny to come with an excuse of her own.

On their way out the door, George winked at Ginny, mouthing "Practice makes perfect."

"Hey, Mum, I'm going to Luna's for tea. I'll be back whenever."

"That sounds lovely, dear!" Mrs. Weasley said kindly. Ginny quickly left and found Fred and George waiting for her in the yard. She grabbed onto Fred's arm, and the three of them Apparated to Malfoy Manor.

They landed just outside the gate and passed through it with ease.

There was a… interesting sight before them which made them stop in their tracks.

Two small children were, for lack of a better word, _streaking _across the front yard of the Manor, chased by no less than six house elves.

One of the children was Maeve, who was wearing only a pair of stockings and a sun hat. The other was a small boy of perhaps four years. He had dark curly hair, fair skin, and a wicked smile across his face. Like Maeve, he was mostly undressed, wearing only one sock.

Both children were squealing with laughter and releasing the occasional high pitched shriek, clearly enjoying the chase.

Maeve caught sight of them and shouted, "Gee-Gee!" She promptly abandoned the chase, running up to Ginny with her arms above her head, as though she wanted to be held.

Ginny scooped the toddler onto her hip. "What are you _doing, _Maeve?"

Maeve smirked and said, "Me and Keanan was playin' chase with the House Elves."

The little boy, now at Ginny's feet, said "_Were." _

Ginny frowned, slightly confused, until Maeve amended, "Me and Keanan _were _playing chase."

The boy nodded approvingly. "House elves are rubbish at chase," he added matter-of-factly.

"We can see that," said George. Although he was behind her, Ginny could tell from his tone that he was smiling.

"Why are you naked?" Ginny inquired.

The little boy shrugged. "We just are," he said.

Maeve excitedly pointed to her hat. "But look, Gee-Gee. I wear hat 'cause Mummy says ladies always wear hats in the sunshine." A frown crossed Maeve's face. "But, Gee-Gee, where is your hat?"

"I think I've forgotten it in the house," Ginny said, setting the child down.

"Let's go!" Maeve cried, grabbing Ginny's hand and pulling her with surprising force towards the front door. The house elves looked relieved.

The interior of Malfoy Manor contrasted sharply with the bright, sunny atmosphere outside, and it took a moment for Ginny's eyes to adjust.

The first thing she clearly was Draco with a teenage girl she had never seen before, heads together over an old photo album. They were both laughing.

Ginny cleared her throat. They looked up, and Draco smiled, getting up to greet her. He tried to kiss her, but she swerved away from his touch and rested her questioning gaze on the other girl.

Draco followed Ginny's gaze to the girl, who was now rushing in their direction.

"Oh, my _God," _the girl said. "Where are your _clothes?" _She rushed right past Draco and Ginny, scooping a giggling Keanen and a pouting Maeve up into her arms. She carried the two of them out of the room, scolding them the entire way.

Fred and George, chuckling to themselves, nodded to Draco before following the girl into the hallway.

"Who… was that?" she said, arms crossed, trying not to look too interested. Bellatrix's words echoed in her mind. _Appearance is everything… _

"That?" Draco echoed, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, the girl!"

Ginny nodded mockingly.

"That's my cousin, Rio. The little boy is her brother, Keanen."

"Cousin in what sense of the word?" Ginny inquired. Purebloods called almost everyone 'cousin'.

"She's my first cousin," said Draco.

"First cousin? Lucius doesn't have siblings," Ginny said questioningly.

"No, she's Aunt Bella's daughter," Draco said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Bellatrix's daughter?" Ginny echoed. "I didn't know she had children."

"She has five, actually," said Draco, laughing slightly at Ginny's little knowledge of the pureblood world.

"Five? How did I miss that?"

"Well, you see, it's all low key. Not many people – outside of our community, that is – are supposed to know about them."

"Well why not?" asked Ginny.

Draco shrugged. "For their safety, I guess. Keanen is only four. It'd be heartbreaking for all of us if someone went after him to get revenge on his parents."

Ginny nodded understandingly. Bellatrix and Rodolphus weren't exactly the most well-liked people in the world. "Are they all here? Can I meet them?"

"Yeah, if you want. They're here for the Death Nibblers meeting. Well, Sal and Keanen are too little, but they hate to be separated."


End file.
